By Kyle LoJacono
Wesley Chapel High athletic director Steve Mumaw cannot remember another occasion when at least five of his student athletes signed with colleges at the same time.
He could not say for sure if the school set a record Nov. 12 when Gabi Brown, Miles Britton, Geoff DeGroot, Marcus Crescentini and Brandon Mumaw made their college commitments official, but it is the most in many years.
Brown signed with the University of Purdue to play softball and had few but direct words to describe what it was like to put her name on the letter of intent.
“Wow, I did it,” Brown said. She then added, “The Purdue coaches and players won me over. They have a family environment and their facilities are the best.”
The outfielder led the softball team with a .468 batting average, a .500 on base percentage, 15 runs scored, 20 steals and the Wildcats lone homerun. She enjoys playing so much she takes extra batting practice with the baseball team whenever she can.
Brown’s team finished 2-21-1 last year, but she thinks they can turn it around this season.
“If we all do our best we can do much better,” Brown said. “The seniors have to give everything we can to the program to go out on top.”
Britton decided to sign on with the first-year lacrosse program at Lenoir Rhyne University. He has played the sport for eight years.
“I started playing because my dad put a lacrosse stick in my hands and I couldn’t put it down,” said Britton, an attacker.
Britton was born in Pennsylvania and lived in many places along the East Coast where lacrosse is very popular.
“Lacrosse is still growing in Florida, but it is growing,” Britton said. “It’s really a lot of fun and I’m happy I was good enough to be able to play in college.”
The last three signees play baseball, Crescentini and Mumaw as pitchers and DeGroot at shortstop. The three helped the Wildcats finish with a 24-4 record, the first winning season for the program. They also claimed another district championship and won the first regional tournament game in Wildcats baseball history.
“It was a lot easier with pitchers like Brandon and Marcus on the mound for us,” said DeGroot, who signed with the University of Massachusetts-Lowell. “We just needed a couple of runs and that was it.”
The pitching staff was the Wildcats’ strength, posting a team earned run average (ERA) of 1.73. Brandon was primarily a started and finished with a 6-0 record, a 0.50 ERA and 47 strikeouts as a junior. Several schools were looking at Brandon, but he chose to stay close to home at Saint Leo University.
“It’s close to Wesley Chapel and they have a good baseball program that is building up,” Brandon said. “I’m honored to be a part of that growth.”
Brandon missed the playoffs last year with a broken finger, but he said he is 100 percent and ready for his senior year. Brandon was also the No. 2 golfer on the Wildcats team that reached the state tournament this year for the first time in program history. He does not think he will be able to do golf and baseball in college, but will continue to play it for fun.
Crescentini, who signed with Indian River State College, pitched mainly out of the bullpen last season. He had a 3-0 record with a 2.24 ERA and 43 strikeouts featuring a fastball and changeup while working on a curveball.
“It was the curveball that killed me last year, but I’ve been working on it a lot and it’s 10-fold improved,” Crescentini said. “It’s really important for a pitcher to have three pitchers to be a starter. It gives hitters something else to look for and I want to be a starter.”
Steve said he is very proud of all the athletes who signed.
“This is what high school athletics is about,” Steve said. “They used their talents and now get to go to college because of their skills.”
Steve added several more athletes will likely be signing in the spring.
-All stats as recorded to Maxpreps.com by coaches.
